


This is the last time

by Comedia



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: F/M, I love them so much, because I don't even know where to start with these guys, it's just a stupid mess of feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-14
Updated: 2013-08-14
Packaged: 2017-12-23 10:32:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,093
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/925321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Comedia/pseuds/Comedia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Aleksis has a habit of collecting rings. Sasha doesn't really get it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	This is the last time

**Author's Note:**

> I just watched Pacific Rim and I can't even... there's just so much I love and want to write about, and I ended up doing this idea first because it's stupid and shortish and I adore the Kaidanovskys so ridiculously much.

Don't ask about the jewelry, it was one of the first rules they told her. _Welcome. This is the team. That dude is Aleksis; do not make fun of his jewelry._

So obviously she had to ask. It seemed like such an impractical thing for a military man to have. He must have noticed that she didn’t intend to mock him, because he hardly seemed annoyed at all. He explained how they all held meaning, and that he only got a new piece when he'd accomplished something. 

He seemed nice enough, and all in all it was a good first meeting. Sure, he was somewhat of a looney too, but there was not a trace of Aleksis "the Bear" – the huge, frightening, man he'd been introduced as.

Later on people would call him the "dancing bear", as if his devotion to her was something to make fun of. He'd just laugh, or crush them. If they ever dared spouting that kind of nonsense in her presence, she would take care of the crushing part.

They worked well together, often standing back to let others do the talking. She remembers the delight she felt when realizing he wasn’t a fan of excessive conversation either. They would observe and share glances, shrugging off whatever offhand remark their colleagues would make about them. Why talk when there's nothing of importance to say? Their silence would sometimes be percieved as respectful, and other times the exact opposite. However, few ever had the guts to actually confront them about it.

Nothing less than the end of the world could affect their devil may care attitude, and once that happened, well, they managed to take it on too.

As for the whole ring thing, well, she never let it go entirely. Once they’d gotten to know each-other, Aleksis seemed fine with her teasing him every once in a while. Sure, soon enough her remarks turned into genuine curiosity, but eventually the day came when she started searching for an engagement ring, and she couldn’t help but feel slightly hypocritical.

After her proposal more rings began to appear in her life, starting with the wedding related ones. Aleksis wanted them to be massive and sparkly, and she didn’t really mind. After all, he was the supposed expert at those sorts of things.

Once they got their assignment there was the Cherno Alpha ring, because obviously you should celebrate being assigned a jaeger by wearing jewelry in its honor; all dark metal with no inscriptions or gems. There was the celebration of taking down their first Kaiju, a garish thing in silver with a big, teal crystal.

Through the years her collection grew, and soon she barely noticed it at all. Once she had realized that the rings served as a quite nice replacement for knuckles, she never questioned wearing them in the line of duty again.

Their life seemed pretty straightforward once the breach had been discovered; fight Kaiju until the Kaiju problem has been solved. It wasn’t exactly complicated, and they could even find enjoyment in their work. To be so compatible with your partner and be able to experience that kind of closeness... if she was sentimental she would call it a blessing, and Aleksis would both agree and make fun of her for it.

Unfortunately life is always more complicated than it first seems, and what started out as an effective and easy solution turned out to be anything but. Neither of them was happy about the reassignment, but at least they weren’t shut down. There was a chance of not only keeping Cherno Alpha in action, but also to end the war. What other jaeger had made it from the start to the finish line? That evening they had a couple of yorshs while overseeing the crews working on their baby.

The Shatterdome would always have a certain kind of glow whenever the blowtorch teams were on their shifts. She remembers making a remark about how their passion could still make sparks fly in the air, and the whole thing ended with him groaning and challenging her to an arm wrestling game. She enjoyed every second of it, because the whole point of a pun is watching your audience be really disappointed in you.

From that moment on it was all a matter of waiting. At times they would be asked to use their connections, but most of the time they were free to do whatever. Their days would mostly consist of training, keeping an eye on Cherno, and pranking people. That was the good thing about their reputation; who would ever think to blame the stoic Russians for pulling asinine pranks?

And one day, it just kind of… happens. Life isn't a slow, endless wait anymore. It's happening, and there's no time to ponder the past anymore.

Double event. It's presented as if it's a big deal. As if it's something new and scary. Sasha scoffs as she's having the jaeger suit put on. Two kaiju, two jaegers; it won’t be much different from a normal mission.

Aleksis turns to her, and she catches him flexing his hand, a gesture that makes his rings chink and sparkle. "Got room for another one?"

It suddenly hits her; wedding; six kaiju; anniversaries… she doesn't. With ten rings that hold meaning, there isn’t room for another one.

But she smiles, because it doesn't matter. It's not a sign and it's not forboding. As they're getting ready there's a neverending stream of reports about the size of the kaijus and what makes this situation unique, but it’s useless to think about what separates one kaiju attack from the others. She's been doing this for years, and the only thing she needs to know with certainty is that they'll take the bastards down like they always do.

"Not really, but we'll make it work. You better have a design ready babe; this will be over in a heartbeat."

He rolls his eyes, and she knows him well enough to notice the amusement in his features; a silent question if she's ever gonna stop calling him that. And perhaps, she thinks, perhaps she will once this is over. No more babe, no more winks, see how long it takes until he admits to missing it.

Moments later they put their helmets on, and there’s a fleeting amusement nudging her mind again, a reminder that she’s not alone mixed with the determination and familarity that is him by her side. They're in their element, they're home; it’s time to get to work.

**Author's Note:**

> Sometimes I write short things on [tumblr](http://comediakaidanovsky.tumblr.com/) as well (but mostly I just cry about fictional characters).


End file.
